President urges end to probe, setting off new storm

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump on Wednesday told his attorney general to end the high-profile investigation into alleged Russian election meddling that has ensnared key members of his presidential campaign and cast a long shadow over his White House.

In a series of tweets that quickly sparked accusations that Trump was publicly trying to pervert justice, the president decried the investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller as "a disgrace".

"This is a terrible situation and Attorney General Jeff Sessions should stop this Rigged Witch Hunt right now, before it continues to stain our country any further," Trump said.

Aides rushed to limit the damage, insisting he was not issuing an order as Session's boss. "It's not an order, it's the president's opinion," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders told reporters, adding that Trump wants the probe to "come to an end".

Trump's attorney, Rudy Giuliani, added: "He used the word 'should', he didn't use the word 'must'."

The president has claimed that the Mueller probe is biased and pursuing erroneous claims of collusion between his campaign team and Moscow.

"Russian Collusion with the Trump Campaign, one of the most successful in history, is a TOTAL HOAX," the president said on Wednesday.

Manafort case

Mueller - a former FBI director - is investigating whether the Trump campaign aided or abetted an attempt by Russia to sway the 2016 presidential election, or tried to cover up the conspiracy. Both Trump and Russia deny such claims.

Media outlets reported on Wednesday that Mueller is seeking to interview Trump in person over the issue of obstruction of justice.

Trump's latest Twitter tirade came on the second day of the trial of former campaign chairman Paul Manafort on bank and tax fraud charges, which stemmed from the probe but were not directly related to his time on the campaign.

Trump tweeted on Wednesday that Manafort "worked for me for a very short period of time" but sought to defend his former aide's bona fides.

"Paul Manafort worked for Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole and many other highly prominent and respected political leaders," he said.

Manafort served as Trump's campaign chief from May to August 2016 and the president asked on Wednesday: "Why didn't government tell me that he was under investigation?"

"These old charges have nothing to do with Collusion - a Hoax!" he said.

Manafort's trial opened on Tuesday with prosecutors accusing him of hiding from US tax authorities millions of dollars from past lobbying work in Ukraine, and failing to report his foreign bank accounts.

Afp - Xinhua - Ap

(China Daily 08/03/2018 page12)